Battle of the Hornburg
The Battle of the Hornburg, known in various adaptations as the Battle of Helm's Deep, was the first grand-scale battle of the War of the Ring, where the Rohirrim under King Théoden defended the Hornburg from Saruman's army of Men and Uruk-hai. History Prelude After being freed by Gandalf from Gríma Wormtongue's influence, Théoden went to the Fords of Isen where Erkenbrand was battling Saruman's orcs. When Théoden arrived, he realized that his army was scattered and unable to efficiently defend his lands, so Gandalf advised him to help Rohan's common people and send them to the Hornburg where many people from Westfold were also taking refuge in the Glittering Caves, which were sealed and garrisoned. Soon Gandalf brought the Rohirrim to defend these and Helm's Deep from Saruman's attacking forces. A local captain called Gamling the Old led the soldiers, a seasoned garrison of fit local men and several companies of Eored from the rest of Rohan ultimately numbering 3,000, while the folk of Rohan, women, children and all, were barricaded into the Glittering Caves. The battle The army of Saruman, ultimately consisting of of Uruk-hai, Wild Men of Dunland, Orcs, and Half-orcs, was reinforced on the way to the Hornburg, due to casualties in the Battles of the Fords of Isen. The army would arrive at the fortress at midnight on March 3. The Orcs quickly overran the first defence of Helm's Dike, but sustained many losses in it "filling up the dike to the top". After moving past the dike the orcs approached the fortress of the Hornburg they sent arrows into the fortress. However, they did not get any response. But when they got closer they were met with a volley of arrows and rocks which made them break ranks. The Orcs soon got close enough to Hornburg and attempted to break the gate down with tree trunks, but were scattered by a small attack team led by Aragorn and Éomer from a postern-door that ran between the brink of the cliff and the wall of the Hornburg. After the team had driven back the Orcs with the ram, the team retreated from the new assault upon the gate. While running back, two Orcs who had faked their deaths knocked Éomer to the ground. As Aragorn ran back to save him, a hidden Gimli hewed the Orcs' heads, saving Éomer and giving Gimli his first two kills to Legolas' twenty. The attackers then raised hundreds of ladders to scale the Deeping Wall; the worn-out defenders threw down the ladders, but were attacked from behind by Orcs who had crawled through the culvert at the base of the Deeping Wall. Gimli and Gamling the Old with a unit of men from the Westfold attacked the orcs who got through the hole. Gimli, after getting twenty-one kills to Legolas' twenty-four, helped block the culvert with stones flooding the stream. Unfortunately, this blockage was destroyed along with a good portion of the Deeping Wall by Saruman's devilry; the fire of Orthanc. at the Deeping Wall]] Out from the new larger hole a huge host of Orcs poured in, and after a desperate battle in the Deep, the defenders led by Éomer, Gimli and Gamling retreated into the Glittering Caves while Aragorn and Legolas fought their way into the keep via a large stairway from the Deep to the citadel. During the retreat, Aragorn was overcome by Orcs; but was saved by Legolas and a boulder that was cast down upon the Orcs from the wall. Aragorn called for a parley and told the orcs that they would die if they didn't surrender, but the Uruk-hai laughed at his threat and attempted to shoot Aragorn down, almost killing him. The Orcs then made it to the gate and destroyed the arch with the 'blasting-fire'. Suddenly, Théoden and Aragorn led a vicious cavalry charge out of the keep to the blasts of the great horn of Helm, followed by the defenders of the Hornburg, driving the Uruks away from the remains of the gate. At the same time, Éomer and Gimli with the company in the caves pushed the orcs out of the Deep. The army of the Mark drove the enemy behind the Dike into the Deeping-coomb. Just then, Gandalf on his horse Shadowfax arrived with Erkenbrand and a thousand swordsmen on foot. They charged the Orcs, trapping them between Erkenbrand's army, Theoden's army, and the Huorns from Fangorn - and Saruman's army was defeated. The orcs and Uruks were driven into the forest of Huorns, where they were consumed, and the Dunlendings surrendered and were spared, but were forced to swear never to attack Rohan again. Immediate aftermath Less than half of the 10,000 Uruk-hai survived the main battle, after being driven into Huorns at most one fourth managed to escape into the plains of Rohan. The surviving Dunlendings were sent home and their slain were buried in a communal mound. The orc carcasses were simply piled off to the side of the battlefield and left to rot. One of the Rohirrim dead was Háma, a captain of Théoden's personal guard and doorman of Meduseld, but nonetheless the refugees in the Glittering Caves were safe in their entirety, and thus returned to their homes. Gimli had lost his helmet in the battle and was wounded badly on the head, but he had killed forty-two orcs to Legolas' forty-one.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Two Towers'', Book Three, Ch. VII: "Helm's Deep" Later aftermath The battle was critical to the survival of Rohan and their participation in the War of the Ring as a whole; had the Rohirrim lost the Battle of the Hornburg, their nation as a whole would have been obliterated by the rampaging legions of Saruman's Uruk-hai. Merry and Pippin's persuasion of Treebeard to attack Isengard was critical as well, and guaranteed Rohan's survival for a time. Portrayal in adaptations In the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the Battle of the Hornburg is tremendously different from its literary counterpart. An expanded and emotionally-potent version of the book's events is depicted, as the people of Rohan possess a more prominent role in the conflict, Elves arrive as reinforcements, the technology and tactics of Isengard are depicted in great detail, and the entire battle takes on a more climactic role than Tolkien likely intended. Proceeding the battle, the entire city of Edoras is evacuated to Helm's Deep, along with all the people of Rohan, rather than merely the refugees of the Westfold, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli accompany King Théoden and his people there. Along the way they are attacked by Saruman's Warg-Riders. During this fight, Éowyn leads the evacuees on to Helm's Deep while the Riders of Rohan fought off the attack. Aragorn becomes entangled with the harness of a Warg and is dragged off the side of a cliff. Upon arrival, the Rohirrim begin belated siege preparations, during which Aragorn, found by the horse Brego, arrives with news of 10,000 Uruk-hai coming from Isengard, news which leads Théoden to order every male able to bear arms, shockingly including mature children and old men, to be armed and ready to fight, which imbues the battle with an emotional burden and dreadful tradgedy. A repulsed Aragorn hopelessly suggests calling for aid to the downtrodden Théoden, before kindly attempting to encourage Haleth, one of the boy soldiers, though his kindness is understandably lost on the poor child, further emphasizing the brutality of the situation. The Rohirrim were surprised by the arrival of Haldir from Lórien and his archers. They were sent by Elrond to support the Rohirrim, in honor of the ancient treaty with the king of Gondor, represented by Aragorn. Aragorn, Legolas, and Haldir's Elves were stationed on the Deeping Wall, which ensured that every fortification of the Hornburg was manned. The battle begins with an accidental shot by an old man, killing an Uruk by hitting him in the neck, followed by a volley of arrows from the defenders, against which the Uruks slowly grind. The events are similar to those in the book, as Uruk-Hai pour over ladders to the wall to be met with a brave but shifting defence by the Rohirrim, however Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn's roles are expanded tremendously, and the device responsible for destroying the wall is revealed as a form of gunpowder. Once the wall is blown, the Uruk-hai pour into Helm's Deep through the great gap. The battle slowly turns from here; Aragorn is briefly incapacitated and the Elves begin to wither, and Haldir himself is slain. The Rohirrim begin to suffer casualties of their own, their already-sparce forces thinning and loosing their weakest members, and the Uruk-Hai begin to siege the keep by pestering its main gate. Théoden is injured in this chaos, and Aragorn offers aid, to which he requests ''"Time, as much you can get me." ''To do this, Aragorn and Gimli stealthily circle the fortress to ambush the Uruk-Hai, though to cross a gap, Gimli must be thrown by Aragorn, much to his chagrin. Gimli and Aragorn earn time for the Rohirrim to re-muster, but the battle is generally declining by this point, with mounting casualties of Rohirrim and a retreat to the keep. Once inside, Théoden falls further into despair while his soldiers brace the doors, as Aragorn belatedly sends word to evacuate the caves. At this stage, Gimli notes that the sun is rising, allowing Aragorn to remember the arrival of Gandalf and to convince Théoden to ride out with him. Gimli sounds the horn of Helm Hammerhand as Théoden, Aragorn, and the remaining Rohirrim (soberingly few in number) charged forth from the gates of the Hornburg and broke the front line of the Uruk-Hai. From this vantage point, Théoden and Aragorn see Gandalf arrive upon Shadowfax, alongside him Éomer and his cavalry, who collectively plunge into the valley. The Uruk-hai form a phalanx of spears to repel Eomer’s horsemen; however, the rising sun blinds them and causes great dissaray. Between these combined forces, the Uruk-hai are forced to retreat. An extended scene depict's the flight of the Uruk-Hai to the forrest of Huorns, only to be slain in their entirety before the eyes of the Rohirrim. Another extended scene depicts Gimli and Legolas engaging in a post-battle argument over their killing scores. It is notable both that the presence of Elves and children armed as soldiers are features only of the film. The Two Towers has no reference whatsoever to Elves being sent by Elrond and Galadriel for the battle, or of the refugees in the Glittering Caves being pressed into service. These plots were written purely for the film, which has been known to anger some Tolkien traditionalists. Notable deaths *Háma, Doorward of Meduseld See also *Tolkien vs. Jackson: Differences Between Story and Screenplay *Movie vs. Book:Two Towers Translations References ca:Batalla de la Gorja d'en Helm de:Schlacht um Helms Klamm fr:Bataille de Fort-le-Cor it:Battaglia del Fosso di Helm pl:Bitwa o Helmowy Jar ru:Битва при Хорнбурге Category:Battles Category:War of the Ring